The Declaration of Independence was written to declare America’s independence from Great Britain. During those times the course of action taken to go public with grievances and issues was by writing documents on paper. John Hancock penned out a list of grievances in the Declaration which were aimed to discredit the King of England and his oppression on America. “He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.” This is one example from the text where the people state they are upset with the immigration reforms or lack thereof set by England.

A couple of weeks ago a respected news outlet The Washington Post posted a story with the headlines saying, “Donald Trump launches sexist, McCarthyite Twitter attack on ‘Morning Joe’ hosts.” “Morning Joe” is a morning talk show aired on MSNBC that touches on political topics that they deem important for their viewers. Naturally the topics this year have been focussed on Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. It is revealed in a video from that article that host Joe Scarborough denounces his support for Trump when Trump began to talk about banning Muslim people from entering America. Scarborough states, “I’m never going to vote for a guy that is saying he’s going to ban somebody just because of the god they worship” Trump responded by tweeting a serious of tweets including this: “Some day, when things calm down, I’ll tell the real story of @JoeNBC and his very insecure long-time girlfriend, @morningmika. Two clowns!”  This is just one example of Trump’s brash commentary towards his peers and critics.

Scarborough aired his issues with Trump’s immigration policy which is similar to what the writer’s of the Declaration did.  The major difference from these two readings are the vast differences in the methods of communicating. The Declaration of Independence was written with immense thought and consideration whereas in today’s society people can fire off tweets like the one Donald Trump sent to Joe and Mika.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/08/22/donald-trump-launches-sexist-mccarthyite-twitter-attack-on-morning-joe-hosts/?utm_term=.13fe4821090c

I always find the topic of factions in the Federalist Paper no. 10 very interesting. Written only 11 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it shows a distinct fear of an uprising against the newly formed government. This fear was so great that the time was taken to write an entire paper on how to quash any kind of faction despite size or type

When the Declaration of Independence was written, our country was, itself, a faction of people escaping the tyranny of England. We listed our grievances against the King and created our own, new society. Yet we found ourselves, a short 11 years later, fearing that the same thing would happen within our new and great nation. We were still too young of a country to trust ourselves and our new government and values.

You would think that 240 years later, we would’ve fully found our voice as a nation, yet here we are, in this time of political mayhem, fearing factions (#BlackLivesMatter, for example) as if they aren’t the reason we became a country. Federalists were the people who truly supported the Constitution, yet doesn’t the muting of factions directly contradict the first amendment in the Bill of Rights? Perhaps there are a great many more contradictions to be found within our country and within our presidential candidates. Where do building a wall and evading the law come into an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” our Constitution?

Then again, haven’t we always found ourselves, as a country, in contradiction with our founding documents: writing “We The People” to include only the white male elite?

Declaration of Independence

The Federalist Papers, No. 10.

U.S. Constitution. Art. II, Sec. 7.

1. The Declaration of Independence represents a period where the United States was run by a unjust system and it was “the right of the people” to free themselves from Great Britain’s government. As an infringement against the people’s “unalienable rights” of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the United States drafted the document to establish a new system, with the best interest of its people in mind. The document argues that the US was under a corrupted system and owed it to its citizens to fight for a better government.

2. Last year, republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a speech regarding his thoughts on “anchor babies”, or children born in America from noncitizen parents in order for the child to have legal citizenship. In the third minute of the video, Trump speaks his views on illegal Mexican immigrants and their abuse of “anchor babies” within the United States. Trump’s speech argues that the parent’s citizenship should determine whether or not a child born in the United States is allowed the rights a typical resident is given, such as social security, medicare and education. In the case of Mexican “anchor babies”, Trump does not believe birthright citizenship should be granted to the child.

3. The Declaration of Independence and Donald Trumps speech share a common theme regarding an American’s basic human rights. In the Declaration of Independence, the US desired to separate itself from a tyrannical government and establish order in the country because it was owed to its people. In Donald Trumps speech, he seeks to strip the rights of an American even though their birth within the country grants legal citizenship. Trumps “anchor baby” views contradicts what the Declaration of Independence fought for their people to have.

Hancock, J. “Declaration of Independence” Avalon Project – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 05 Sept. 2016.

Trump, D. “Donald Trump Mexicans Immigrants Speech – Wall Between US And Mexico.” YouTube. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Sept. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp_JzeOGX1U